Roads and Neighbourhood Services Business Improvement Plan

The Roads and Neighbourhood Services oversees the maintenance function and safe operation of the adopted public carriageway/footway network, adopted open spaces (including trees), cemeteries, waste & recycling services to domestic and commercial clients.

Also deliver the management and maintenance of fleet for all services within East Dunbartonshire Council, East Dunbartonshire Health & Social Care Partners and East Dunbartonshire Culture & Leisure Trust.

In addition, the Service also oversees the management and operations of Mugdock Country Park.

This Service area is divided into seven portfolio groupings which in turn are sub-divided into several sections dealing with various specialisms.

Roads Network Operations

• Roads Operations (including reactive repairs, resurfacing and drainage maintenance)
• Roads Technical/Inspection
• Street Lighting Operations (including reactive repairs, resurfacing and drainage maintenance)
• Street Lighting Technical/Inspection
• Roads Asset Management

Roads Technical & Engineering

• Road Works Control & Traffic
• Roads Development
• Road Safety
• Flood Risk (including drainage design)
• Structure (including bridges design, inspection & repair)

Streetscene Technical Support

• Bereavement
• Arboriculture
• Greenspace Development & Projects
• Technical Suppport
• Operations Programming

Streetscene Operations

• Grounds maintenance
• Play Area Inspection & Repair
• Street cleansing
• Cemetery operations

Mugdock Country Park

• Countryside Rangers
• Development Officer
• Wardens
• Customer Service

Waste Services

• Domestic Waste & Recycling
• Comercial Waste & Recycling
• Management of Mavis Valley Houshold Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC)
• Liaise with Clyde Valley Waste Services Partners
• Enforcement

Fleet Services

• Manage the Councils Goods Vehicle Operator Licence
• Fleet operations.
• Fleet maintenance.
• Transportation for ASN Services

Cooperatively and individually each portfolio will work with internal and external partners to contribute to the delivery of the Council and Community Planning Partner’s overarching Local Improvement Plans as well as the Councils six agreed Local Outcomes:

The combined Roads Teams will seek to manage and maintain the transport network and associated infrastructure by recognising and adhering to relevant legislation and statutory obligations which in turn allows residents, employees, and visitors to access jobs, businesses, communities, schools, further education and all other amenities via a safe and well-maintained network. In addition, the team will support projects intended to improve the strength of our town centres and commitments to the Climate Change Actions that will allow the Services to move toward more sustainable service delivery.

The Environment Teams provide a broad range of services that touch all communities and individuals working, living and visiting East Dunbartonshire.

The Neighbourhood Team provides a comprehensive range of services which touches all of the people across East Dunbartonshire. The organisational design model harnesses the diverse range of skills and knowledge of the individuals and teams to maximise collaborative gain and deliver for all of our customers across the communities through our frontline teams.

The Services agenda requires effective partnership working with our Community Planning Partners as well as a wide range of other partners from the voluntary sector and external agencies as we contribute to all of the outcomes within the Local Outcome Improvement Plan 2017-2027 (LOIP). While the focus for Neighbourhood Services in the LOIP is less explicit than for some other services, the primary strategic direction and focus is on contributing to six long term guiding principles and priorities, and in support of the local outcomes.

This we aim to do this by:

• Providing good quality, well maintained and safe movement for all modes of transport for all residents, visitors and employees
• Delivering and maintaining on and off-road active travel infrastructure that gives choice and encourages a change in travel behaviour
• Managing and maintaining the adopted Carriageway and Footway network
• Management of on and off-street parking provision in our town centres
• Engaging with communities through consultation and conversation to shape the design and delivery of services.
• Managing adopted carriageways, footway, footpaths, open spaces and parks through seasonal cyclical programmes, service level agreements, Street Cleaning operations, countryside verge maintenance and the reintroduction of the Care of Garden Service
• Providing burial space and bereavement services as well as strategic cemetery development and extensions to meet the projected needs of the various communities and settlements
• Project managing and implementing strategic projects as prioritised within key Strategic documents such as the Council’s Climate Change Action Plan, Open Space Strategy, Local Biodiversity Action Plan, Green Network, Tree Management Policy, and Play Park Action Plan in addition to statutory provision through an approved Food Growing Strategy.

The Services collectively remain committed to making a strong contribution to the community planning partnership and the ‘place’ approach in line with Community Empowerment Act which provides a greater role for community planning partners in the delivery of local outcomes.

The Services will continue to review process and procedures to identify ways in which to enhance performance of all Service provision through our processes, procedures and most importantly through our staff thus providing a better customer experience.

Streetscene Technical Support Team

The Streetscene Technical Support Team provide a range of technical support services, including, project management of a range of outdoor related projects such as cemetery extensions and construction, play-park construction, woodland projects, biodiversity enhancement and habitat creation/restoration, allotment construction etc. The team implement projects from the following strategies: Local Biodiversity Action Plan, Greenspace Strategy (to be finalised in 24/25 and encompasses elements of the previous Green Network strategy), Local Outcome Improvement Plan, Play Park Action Plan, Food Growing Strategy (draft) and Tree Surveys (Street and Parkland Trees along with Roadside Ash). More recently the team work in partnership to develop flood mitigation and river naturalisation projects where there are biodiversity considerations and multi benefit opportunities for habitat restoration, access improvements and open space enhancements utilising nature based solutions. The Strategic team also deals with Cemetery management and record keeping along with development of Cemetery Strategy and park management plans, open space enquiries and arboriculture services as well as audit reviews for open space and street cleaning (APSE/LEAMS), estimating, unauthorised advertising and bill of quantities records. The team oversee contracts relating to open space projects and service level agreements such as pitch maintenance and tree works. There is a significant amount of community development work and work on developing litter awareness and community litter picking days with community groups and residents. The team act as planning consultees for open space issues in Planning developments submitted to the Council and spending of capital from Planning gain.

Streetscene Operations Team

The Streetscene Operations Team is located across three geographical areas providing a range of grounds maintenance, street cleaning and cemetery provision to East Dunbartonshire. This includes seasonal deployment of staff to deal with seasonal priorities. Summer months includes open-space and care of gardens grass/hedge cutting, shrub and flower bed maintenance as well as daily litter picking operations and pitch lining and inspection. Winter months focuses on preparation for the coming spring and summer months, leaf fall and support to the council’s winter maintenance programme. The Service also complete street cleansing service including maintenance of litter bins, mechanical sweeping, and litter removal. The Service undertakes maintenance in residential and sporting areas as part of Service Level Agreements between the Council’s Housing Service and the East Dunbartonshire Leisure & Culture Trust.

Roads Technical & Engineering Team

The Roads Technical and Engineering Team are responsible strategically for the delivery of various roads related tasks, including;

• Service administration and policy development for Road Construction Consents (RCC), co-ordination of road works, skip and road occupation permits
• Flood Risk Assessment (FRA) and mitigation with internal and external stakeholders, including capital spend
• The delivery of new drainage solutions and the maintenance of existing drainage infrastructure
• Inspection and maintenance of bridges, roads related structures e.g. retaining walls, safety barriers and culverts.
• Road safety
• Traffic management, including signage and road markings
• Traffic signals
• Commercial activity within the adopted road network.

Roads Network Operations Team

The Roads Network Team have a statutory responsibility to manage and maintain the roads and street lighting assets. The key areas of responsibility are:

• The provision and delivery of the Roads Inspection and Maintenance Policy that aims to improve the overall safety and condition of the road network through a planned, risk based, asset management approach to all maintenance activities ensuring resources are targeted to the areas most in need, and those which provide the greatest overall benefit to our communities
• The provision and delivery of the Council’s Winter Maintenance Policy is a key element of the Roads Service’s operational responsibilities, incorporating our response to winter gritting, flooding and any associated seasonal/severe weather emergencies
• The maintenance of our road network through repairs and improvement works by delivering a high quality, value for money works programme for carriageway and footways using both conventional resurfacing and a range of propriety treatments such as surface dressing, which will extend the life of the existing surface, prevent further deterioration and improve skid resistance for all our road users
• Minimise the risk to all road users through a practical approach to routine cyclic maintenance and reactive repairs to both roads and street lighting assets
• Delivery of a capital improvement programme that provides a comprehensive upgrade of the existing lighting infrastructure including continuing introduction of LED lanterns.

The Roads Network Operations Team have returned to a full operational return following the H&S restrictions brought in to manage Welfare and Transportation of staff. The Service has worked hard to backfill a number of technical and operational vacancies to allow the teams to move into the 2023/24 financial year with its core structure in place to deliver both maintenance and capital projects.

Mugdock Country Park

Mugdock Country Park is a major park attraction on the boundary of Stirling and East Dunbartonshire and maintained by East Dunbartonshire Council on a current 50 year lease agreement with Stirling. The park receives more than 600,000 visitors every year.  Staff at the park have wide range roles including Visitor Attraction staff, Wardens, and the Countryside Ranger Service. Offering a diverse range of self-led and led activities throughout the year, the park encourages families, education and leisure groups to interact and gain a better appreciation of their local environment including trails and walks

The park’s events programme offers many organised activities. It is separated into two interest areas – Countryside Activities (educational and leisure topics) and Arts Programme (film, theatre & recital).  Services are provided by existing park businesses and also by outdoor providers who use the park to run activities both for children and adults. Voluntary and charity groups also use the park extensively for their events.

In 2022 and early 2023 the park completed the updated the Mugdock Country Park Strategy which identified and prioritise actions for park improvements, following public consultation going forward. In 2024, the implementation of the Strategy continues.

The main service delivery is as follows:

• Management of 270 hectares of country park for the enjoyment of over 600,000 visitors each year
• Visitor Centre with 7-day public access
• Delivering of programmes of environmental education to children and young people
• Promotion of Mugdock as an access point to the wider countryside for recreation and health benefits
• Facilitation of a wide range of park-based events.
• Supporting of a growing number of park based businesses
• Facilitating the development of sites within the park including
  • Craigend Castle and surrounding area
  • Observatory in partnership with the Astronomical Society of Glasgow
  • Upgrading of the BBQ facilities
  • Development at the Walled Garden
  • Mugdock Castle improvements
  • Measure customer satisfaction levels

Fleet Services

The Fleet Management Team is an enabling service underpinning the delivery of a range of front-line Council services including education, property maintenance, roads, waste and social work. The team is responsible for developing and implementing Council policy, and regulatory compliance for all aspects of operational fleet deployed in the provision of front-line services and to provide and manage the Council’s fleet of plant & vehicles. The Fleet Service also has responsibility for the operation of the Council’s hire desk function across all service areas.

Fleet Management has responsibility for the deployment and management of a fleet of pool cars for business travel with vehicles placed at strategic locations across the Authority. The fleet service delivers transport functions for both social services and Education transport functions for children and vulnerable adults with additional support needs.

The focus of the team for the coming year will be the continuing support to other key services in delivering strategic and emerging priorities. This work will include the ongoing fleet replacement programmes and in working in partnership with other teams, the development of a Strategic Plan to decarbonise the Council’s vehicle fleet & Infrastructure to support these activities.

Waste Services

Waste Services is a high-profile front-line service that has responsibility for the collection, treatment and disposal of all waste generated by the residents of East Dunbartonshire. The service operational responsibilities include waste, recycling, garden waste and food collections from the kerbside. We operate a trade waste service for both waste and recycling and have provision for bulky waste collections. The service is responsible also for the management of our household waste and recycling centre at Mavis Valley, this site is regulated by Sepa for an annual throughput of 10,000 tonnes of material each year.

The service oversees the contract objectives of the household waste Transfer Station, which was designed and built as part of the twenty-five-year Clyde Valley Residual Waste Contract. This contract has been in operation for 4 years and facilitates the Council meeting the Scottish Government Zero Waste Plan and Waste (Scotland) Regulations 2012 in respect of the ban on biodegradable municipal waste to landfill by 2025.

Waste Services have primary responsible for the on-going development of strategies to raise waste awareness within the local community and businesses. We aim to minimise the tonnage of municipal waste produced and to maximise recycling participation. The work is enabled through delivery of a wide range of campaigns and educational initiatives with the schools, businesses and the wider community. The Waste Technical team have responsibility for the monitoring and compliance of all waste streams, providing regular reporting of all waste end destinations under the national Sepa Waste Data regulating scheme.

The focus for the year ahead will be on the implementation firstly of our Garden Waste Permit scheme. Ensuring that this new scheme is well communicated to our residents, that our front-line operational team deliver a high-quality service, and that all waste streams are closely monitoring to identify the impact on the overall waste composition.

The team will be working on the implementation of a 3 weekly residual collection frequency, aimed at driving recycling performance while minimising the overall general waste tonnage generated by our householders. This will involve work across the service, through operational changes in the creation of new and efficient collection route, as well as technical support in the delivery of the message to our residents, in the provision of a high-level campaign and service visibility.

The Service continues to be faced with numerous challenges over the coming years, but this also provides opportunities to monitor and improve service delivery to the settlements, communities, and residents via some of the key strategic priorities which are summarised within this section:

• Provide a quality Street Cleansing service via our Streetscene Operational Teams to our residents, complying with the statutory objectives of Environmental Protection Act 1990 and Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse 2018 (COPLAR)
• Prioritise and implement actions identified from the Strategic and Operational Play Area Action Plan (PAAP) which will seek to improve recreational facilities for park users, and to look at innovative use of parkland for community use and surface water management considering the Community Empowerment Bill and Sustainability duties. This will be further enhanced in 2024 through the updating and finalisation of the 2019 PAAP methodology and undertaking a Play Sufficiency Assessment
• Maintain the Council’s Tree assets, through sustainable tree management works and planting programmes, as per the Council’s Duty of Care via the Councils Tree Management Policy. The work will also include surveys to ascertain the extent of Ash dieback surveys in council open space and throughout the roads network
• Provision of allotments to meet local demand as per statutory requirements of the Community Empowerment Act and an approved Food Growing Strategy. Grant funding has been utilised to provide a new Allotment & Community Growing Officer
• Provision of the Council’s first Climate Ready Green Infrastructure Project at Woodhill & Etive Parks. The works will include the re-shaping of areas of amenity grass to form gently sloped basin areas to temporarily hold surface water during storm events, creation of roadside swales to re-divert surface water, meadow creation, provision of a food growing space with associated access and provision of a bike track using material from the excavated basins. This work readily ties in wih the Climate Action Plan being produced by the Council.
• Continuation of a programme of works relating to Nature Restoration and climate resilience and adaptation through open space planting and nature network development and implementation. The Service is developing and producing management plans with input from the local community to establish priorities for action
• As a Burial Authority the Service continues to seek and increase burial capacity within the local authority area; in 2024 plans will be created for a new cemetery site at Cadder while extension works at Langfaulds will be procured. The Service will also carry out capital improvements with all operational cemeteries relating to drainage upgrades and boundary features
• Ongoing development of a digitised Service continues in 2024 particularly in relation to the Roads and Environmental Teams, taking into account Play Parks, Cemeteries, Tree Surveys and Open Space assets
• Work in partnership with Statutory bodies (e.g. SEPA) to improve water quality and morphology through River Basin Management Planning objectives, and fulfil actions in line with the Council’s proposed Climate Action Plan. Works will focus on three main projects.
  • Glazert River
  • Kelvin Tributaries (Allander/Luggie/Parkburn sections)
  • Partnership working to ascertain opportunities along the Kelvin Valley (Green Action Trust, Glasgow City Council and North Lanarkshire Council).
• Maintain a safe, efficient, and effective road network working in partnership with other agencies to ensure National, Regional and Local outcomes are achievable in line with the funding available, including:
  • Transport Scotland
  • Glasgow City Region - Transport and Connectivity Portfolio Working Group
  • Office of the Scottish Road Works Commissioner
  • Scottish Collaboration of Transport Specialists – SCOTS Roads and Utilities Committee (Scotland) – RAUCS
  • Strathclyde Partnership for Transport – SPT
  • Association for Public Sector Excellence – APSE
  • Scottish Environmental Protection Agency – SEPA
  • Neighbouring Councils
• Contribute to the East Dunbartonshire City Deal Projects as required and directed by the Project Board
• Work to the Council Winter Maintenance Policy to ensure that vehicle and pedestrian transport networks stay open during periods of severe weather events and that a safe route to priority locations remain open as identified within the policy
• Continue to review and improve roads and lighting infrastructure with details included in the Roads Asset Management Plan (RAMP)
• Review, update, and expand the Councils Roads Inspection and Maintenance Policy to include all relevant roads (and related) assets
• Take forward flood risk assessment and management schemes
• Contribute as required to the aspirations and actions set out within the Council’s Local Transport Strategy and Active Travel Strategy
• Deliver a revised strategy for Mugdock Country Park that ensure that it remains an attractive destination for residents and visitors
• Respond to the Council’s stated Climate Emergency Declaration and contribute as required to resulting Climate Action Plan. Initiate a Cemetery Strategy that outlines the Services commitment as the local Burial Authority to provide suitable provision for all settlements, communities and residents that meet their needs now and in the future
• Initiate an Ash Dieback Management Plan to establish the extent of ash dieback, prioritise actions for felling and replanting; in line with the Ash Dieback Toolkit for Scotland
• Effective financial planning and management with targeted financial performance improvements, delivery of all revenue savings targets and all Neighbourhood capital investments within timescales identified through the Asset Management Plans and Capital programme
• A key strategic priority for the coming year will be continuing to deliver and support all services, as the council recovers from the economic challenges, whilst also managing ongoing service pressures
• In partnership with the Councils procurement and legal services, the service requires to continue the development of robust contract monitoring arrangements to ensure value for money service from all contracted work
• Increase where possible the Council’s use of renewable energy sources to reduce our Fossil Fuel and energy consumption through the decarbonisation of Council assets
• Continue work with Scottish Government & suppliers, in order to seek investment, and investigate opportunities for the introduction of new technology across the Councils vehicle and plant fleet. In pursuit of a reduction in the impact on the Councils Carbon footprint
• Provide an efficient, safe and high performing Waste and Recycling Collection Service to our residents, complying with the statutory requirements set out in the Environmental Protections Act 1990 and Waste (Scotland) Regulations 2012
• Continue to meet the objectives of the Zero Waste Plan through working with our residents and local businesses to maximise recycling performance, reduce contamination and understanding the impact of changes to policy and legislation at a local level
• Provision of a local Household Waste Recycling Centre in line with the agreed SEPA site licence requirements. Maximising the customer experience through accessibility and availability of recycling opportunities, and ensuring a safe, high-quality experience for all visitors is achieved
• Continue the development and work with Clyde Valley Waste partners to ensure compliance in advance of the Scottish Government Landfill ban in 2025. Look to achieve maximum recycling and diversion of the Councils residual waste stream and reviewing further opportunities for joint working that will have a positive impact on the service
• Continue to foster strong working partnerships with Scottish Government, Zero Waste Scotland and Sepa through participation and engagement in the Waste Management Network forum, enabling opportunity to influence the development of policy and legislation
• Deliver a change to the frontline kerbside residual waste collection service, through implementing a reduction to the frequency of collections. Creating new efficient service collection routes and contributing to the roll out of a high-level communication plan to our customers
• Implement the garden waste permit scheme to our residents, ensuring that the service is accessible, high quality, and achieves the service objectives. Benchmark against other Local Authorities to ascertain good practice and associated challenges.